Text Talk: Week 1

Well now that my bracket has gone totally tits up, (thanks Gonzaga) I figured it would be a good time to start my new weekly literary post. My life now won't be so consumed with March Madness, I can focus on getting back to some reading.

Ever since I went to Powell's Books last weekend, I've been in a little bit of a slump. I was on a roll for a while, catching up to the 80 book pace I set for myself at the beginning of the year (I'm currently 7 books behind schedule...). I thought going to Powell's would get the juices flowing and give me some things to really tear through. Wrong. I've sat on my hands the last week, flirting with the first few pages of Paper Towns by John Green but really not getting anywhere with it. It wasn't until I checked today's mail where I got a lovely package which contained the third novel in the Vampire Academy series, Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead, that I got really excited. I'm about 30 pages in right now and it's just and addicting as the first two.

Now I'm not going to claim that this is really an academically stimulating, earth shattering read, but they're fast paced, have a kiss ass heroine and are totally mindless, perfect to propel me out of the rut I'm in. On Goodreads, I've given the first two novels 4 out of 5 stars, which is a lot more than I had ever anticipated giving them. I'm kind of ashamed I like them as much as I do, honestly. The covers are so campy and the subject matter (vampires) is so over done, but there's something that keeps me coming back for more. Not to sound pompous, but I imagine people who like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars would also be attracted to this series and somehow I fall into that as well.

I keep hearing the series of seven books falls off after the third one, but I haven't read anything yet to steer me away. So that's what I've been reading this week, I look forward to another update next week! Until then, happy reading!

A Week in Photos: Weeks 10 & 11

I got just the kick in the ass I needed to write a new post. I got my first comment on my blog and it was from a high school friend saying to get my butt in gear. Thanks Doro- that's just the motivation I needed!

I promise I really am working on a post that will be long and informative, I just work on it chucks at a time and only when I'm feeling the writing vibe, so not very often obviously. Procrastination, I need to work on that.

Sunday 3/3: On Saturday, Ryan got his oil changed and the perk of us taking his Camry to the Toyota dealership is that they wash the car, in and out! It was a surprisingly sunny Sunday, so we decided for some reason it was the right day to put the Oregon sticker up in the back window. Of course I viewed this as a photo-op, thus the ensuing picture. GO DUCKS!!! (March Madness starts TOMORROW!!! Ducks play at 1:40 PM, and yes I will be watching from work :)

Monday 3/4: Over the weekend while I wasn't at work, we acquired this handsome sign. Before, the building we are in was a convalescent center, so it was good to get our insignia up before any families tried dropping granny off at a drug and alcohol treatment center. Ryan had a large part in creating this sign and I think it's magical (it has a ton of detail close up).

Tuesday 3/5: There were some aforementioned shirts in another post about The Chive, so it was a wonderful day when we came home to find these packages. Of course the packaging was really catchy and creative with a large sticker that said CENSORED. Sadly though, Ryan has yet to take his shirt out of the package to wear it, it's a point of contention in our relationship. Peanut was glad to ease the tension with posing for this picture though.

Thursday 3/7: Though this isn't really "Throwback Thursday" worthy because it was only taken a week or so before, I thought this was a lovely photograph that I had to share. I hate to admit this but often times now, I picture photos I can take just to post them on Instagram. I will admit though that I have gotten a little burned out and have slowed my roll a little bit. Maybe that should tell me something about my days though, that I'm not doing enough beautiful things or that I'm not seeing the beauty in the everyday? As with everything, I think there is a fine balance between too much and too little, I'm working to find that.

Friday 3/8: One of the things I love most about it being winter is that we get to run the gas fireplace and we get to see our kitties loving the heat. I know I have snapped shots of Marley like this before, but I can't get enough. He just so unashamedly flaunts his kitty goods to get the most comfortable he can be in front of that fire. I admire him. He's one heat loving cat.

Saturday 3/9: It was a surprisingly warm, sunny day for early March. My dad decided to come down to spend the day with me just to get out of Olympia for a while. Ryan and I had given him a gift certificate for a restaurant on the river called the Bridgewater Bistro. It's one of the most beautiful spots in Astoria if you ask me. We were able to capture some shots of the foggy bridge but the pictures don't do it justice! It was truly a stunning sight.

Sunday 3/10: I know everyone will bemoan "springing forward" part of daylight savings. I for one, love it. This picture was taken at 7:00 pm and it was still daylight! I went on a bit of a walk about, just to take in all of the exquisite old homes in Astoria, and I came across this scene. This down the bushes to the street that leads to the river in some respects reminds me of some of the streets in San Francisco or Seattle to some extent. Astoria is a very picturesque town full of beauty like this.

Monday 3/11: I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but when my father takes pictures on his phone, I know it will take days of me hounding him to finally give them to me. That being said, this time wasn't so bad. He had taken this picture of me and Ryan on Saturday and it only took him two days to get it to me. Old men and iPhones might not mix.

Tuesday 3/12: Despite what Ryan and I think, the cats truly run our house. I really do think that our cats are smarter than we are and they have us trained really really well. I don't know if anyone else thinks this about their animals, but this picture really encapsulates who runs shit around our house. Marley, king of the castle, on his throne.

Thursday 3/14: To try my hand at being domestic, I decided to make cupcakes for two of our clients that were having birthdays on Friday. I spent my 25th birthday in treatment so I knew that it could be a humbling, lonely experience if you don't have someone making it special for you. What I find funny of the Betty Crocker company is that they think if they put on their box not to eat the dough, that you actually won't. Let's just say I ended up with only 18 cupcakes instead of 24...

Saturday 3/16: I have had a weekend in the works with my mom for a while. Her and her best friend Shari wanted to do a girls shopping trip all over Portland and it's not like they had to twist my arm into it. This picture was just off 23rd near the Alano Club and I just died over the magnolia tree in bloom. I am so excited that warm weather and flowers are right around the corner.

Sunday 3/17: We were staying at the Marriott City Center and we woke up to this scene! The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Run. Singlehandedly this made me feel really guilty about not running like I should be and very envious because it looked SO FUN! There were runners as far as the eye could see and they were spread all over down town Portland. I didn't feel guilty or jealous for very long though, right after this we had a wonderful breakfast at the Original Dinerat where I consumed three large pieces of creme brûlée french toast. I got the better half of this deal :)

 Sunday 3/17: And finally, no trip to Portland is complete without a stop at Powell's Books. This was what I was looking forward to all weekend. Though I have a mild book hoarding problem, I justified buying more books because I had finished 10 already this year. Everyone likes getting new books (even if you already have a stack of 40+ you have yet to read) so I can't deny myself that feeling. I have made a deal through this year that I can only outright purchase new books once I have read 10 from my pile. Sounds legit, right? Anyway, I have been dying to get my hands on a John Green book for ages now, and I have finally succeeded. At Powell's I purchased book two of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Paper Towns by John Green, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, and Looking for Alaska by John Green. The other books I acquired in non-buying (aka free-ish) ways. Those include Uglies by Scott Westerfield, Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Night Road by Kristen Hannah and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was thinking about adding another weekly post that included my currently reading/to be read, because I always love hearing about what people are reading. Thoughts?

That's all for now, I'm working on this whole "accountability" and "adulthood" thing, so I'll make an attempt at creating more regular posts!! Thanks all for reading! Until next time.

A Week in Photos: Week 8

Sunday 2/17: About two years ago when I was living in Portland I got used to going to New Season's market for lunch everyday. This is where I picked up the habit of testing out as many Kombucha drinks I could find. I have finally settled on the Grape Chai Synergy Kombucha being my absolute favorite. This summer, that's all I could drink, but with each costing about $3 a pop, I had to give the habit up. On my weekly Sunday grocery trip, I finally gave myself permission to get one again, and oh my god, it was a heavenly experience.

Monday 2/18: After giving up one addiction, alcohol, I found that I have replaced it with another, books. And my cat, but that wasn't the priority in this photo. I was showing a fellow book lover my piles of shame, aka the piles of books I have yet to read. This picture doesn't do the situation justice, there's a whole third stack with more unread books back behind those piles. My goal is to read 80 books in this calendar year, this will get me well over half that mark. As I have said before, there could be worse addictions...

Tuesday 2/19: Every morning, without a doubt, our cat Marley jumps into the bathroom sink. And it's always when I'm either mid-teethbrush or face-wash. Ryan, over the years, has allowed for him to become water snobs, only drinking out of the kitchen or bathroom sinks. I have decided that in the next place we live, we will need two sinks, one for humans and one for kittens.

Thursday 2/21: For a "throwback Thursday" photo this week, I dug one out from the dark days, aka my past drinking life. This was the summer of 2009 on a trip to Chelan to see Ryan. I think it's amazing how far we have come in the past four years. Both of us are sober now, living productive and fulfilling lives together. It only took us two false starts and seven years to get here, but I finally have the man of my dreams.

Friday 2/22: This is a large gummy bear. I have never seen such a thing before. I had to take a picture and obviously give a size comparison next to my Oregon house key. Why? Because Go Ducks!

Saturday 2/23: It's not often that Ryan ventures out of his office at work, but when he does, he can be seen doing this or sneaking food out of the back door of the kitchen.

Mooch Away!

I wanted to give an update on my feelings about Bookmooch. After about a month of use, I cannot say how thrilled I am about this site.

My initial reaction was that there were no books to be found and that it was a waste of my time. That's because I'm an instant gratification type person, I want what I want, now. After I slowed myself down a little bit, took my own advice and added almost 200 books to my "wishlist", things got rolling. Currently, I have sent out 16 books all over the nation and I have received three with six more on the way. It's kind of like a hide and seek adventure! Some of these titles include:

1. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
2. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
3. Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade
4. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
5. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
7. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson 

Basically, what I have come to find is that if you are vigilant and quick, you are not just limited to old books no one has ever heard of. I feel like everyone using this site has a passion for books and it gives you a good community feel. I have only had one book come to me that was in questionable condition, i.e. its spine was heavily creased and cover was tarnished, but for the most part, every book has been in great shape and would be easy to put back on this site after I read it. 

The main reason I love this site so much is because every book I get mailed to me, I pay for by mailing a book to someone else. The shipping cost for USPS Media Mail is typically $2.47. So not only am I getting the satisfaction of giving out a book that I enjoyed, I'm getting another one to replace it at a bargain price! I would encourage anyone who loves to read but hates the sticker shock that comes along with buying books to check this site out, it's beyond fabulous. 

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and that this finds you in good holiday spirits! Happy Cyber Monday! Until next time, take care!

You're the Best Around!

As I stated at the end of my last post, I really wanted to do an entry on my favorite books of the past year. Also, as I've said, I'm just getting back into the literary world so this by no means is an all encompassing, multi-genre romp. This is a small cross section of books that I just so happened to run across in the past 365 days-ish.

The Name of the Wind 
by Patrick Rothfuss

Not often does a book come along that so easily moves up the ranks of "Top Books in Erin's Mind". For many years now, the Harry Potter series has dominated those coveted top positions with few true adversaries. I started that series when I was twelve and grew along with the characters, basically making them my life and loves for ten years. I am a true believer that Post-Potter-Depression is real. No book could grip me the way Harry Potter did. But like all old loves, we must move on. So I was doing some interweb browsing and came across this flowchart of fantasy/science fiction books that had a bubble titled "Give me more precious lads at schools of magic please", thus Name of the Wind came into my consciousness.

I will tell anyone who asks, this has got to be one of my favorite books of all time. I'm not really a synopsis kind of girl, so I'll leave that up to Goodreads and just give you my reaction. This series is right up there with Harry Potter. The characters are so intricate and developed that you feel like you know them intimately. The story has some plot lines that end within the first novel and some that are going to be overarching through out the series. Everything about this book screams epic fantasy, and it's the best sort. The world building is highly believable and painted by a true wordsmith. The dialog is witty and quick with many laugh aloud moments and pacing that works. This is a book for fantasy lovers and anyone else who loves a good story with characters they can get invested in. I could go on and on about the love I feel for this book and I feel most people who have read it would echo this sentiment.

My Rating: 5/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.55/5

A Wise Man's Fear
by Patrick Rothfuss

So thankfully I started this series when A Wise Man's Fear was almost out, otherwise there was a four year wait between books one and two. I'm hoping that Sir Rothfuss is actively writing as much on the series finale (The Doors of Stone) as he is on Goodreads. This book, A Wise Man's Fear is just as good as the first and longer with much more story to enjoy. For all of the positives I have to say, see above review. Best. Series. Ever.

(Note: If you like Game of Thrones, this is for you times 10,000.)

My Rating: 5/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.52/5

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness

This book didn't capture my heart like the last series did, but that's like comparing apples to oranges. Discovery of Witches is more of a paranormal, current/historical fiction, if that makes any sense. It focuses on witches, vampires and daemons, which, since Twilight, is a overly used plot line, but this is done well. What I like about this book is the educational aspect, it's set at Cambridge in England, and there is a very modern-victorian feel about it. There is a romantic aspect to the novel which doesn't really help or hurt it any but just moves the story along. I was really excited to learn the second book (Shadow of Night) that came out this year, and I purchased an advanced copy. To be honest though, I got about 40 pages in and had to put it down. Maybe it was too much time between novels, maybe I need to read the first again, but it didn't propel me forward. It's still sitting in my to-be-read bin.

My Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.97/5

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher

You might read the synopsis of Thirteen Reasons Why and think to yourself, "Why would I ever pick up a book about teen suicide, how awful." Me too. After reading this, I might think twice. There was something soft and understated about the telling of this story. There isn't a focus on suicide itself, but the events that lead up to this girl, Hannah Baker taking her own life. The parties involved, the cruelness of high school but also the beauty. This story is told posthumously via tapes left by Hannah which are heartbreaking and touching. This could have been my story, it could have been your story, it could have been anyones story. I found it very relatable and moving. It's a simple read, but I found it has stuck with me long after I've put it down. It's the kind of book that makes you want to hug everyone you see and reach back into your past and say I'm sorry to those you might have wronged. But on a more disappointing note: This is going to be a movie. With Selena Gomez. Bah.

My Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.6/5

Honorable Mentions:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- I was in love with the first half of this book. By midway, I was texting my mom, Ryan's mom and all other book-ies I knew telling them to acquire this book. By the last page, I was retracting that statement as quick as I could. It seriously was like reading two different books. The two halves didn't jive at all. I don't think either of the halves would have made for a particularly bad book, but it didn't work together. Overall, I'd give this book a 3/5 (aka get it in the bargain bin).

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak- There's a lot of hype about this book. People LOVE this book. It's different. It tells a story from the eyes of death, the grim reaper, angel of death. Kind of like Meet Joe Black. And Death in this instance is actually kind of funny, sarcastic if you will. Death narrates the story of a girl in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. It's set up to be a horribly sad book. And as I said, people FREAK over this book. Does it make me a bad person that I just didn't get it? I didn't get what the hubbub was all about. I shed a tear or two, but I've read some reviews where these people were literally needing BOXES of tissues. Am I soul-less? I mean it basically tells you what's going to happen in the book on the first few pages, so all shock and awe is gone there. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this story, but I didn't think it reinvented the wheel by any means. If you've read this and know what I'm missing, please let me know. My Rating: 3.5/5

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray- In my Goodreads review I likened this book to a more grown up version of A Little Princess (for those of you who haven't seen this movie, or who didn't grown up with this, shame on your parents). I really wanted to like this book. Like I gave up on my whole "book box" idea where I would just grab a book at random and start reading with out the premeditated thought processes of choosing a book. A Great and Terrible Beauty jumped ahead in line of the now 20 books I have to read. It didn't live up to my expectations at all. I was pissed at first. This book was literally 300 pages of back story, character building, setting description and mundane daily life of English boarding school girls. What saved me from burn-piling it, were the last 100 pages. After my initial anger, I started watching some of my YouTube book brethren, and they told me not to be discouraged, that they too felt cheated, but the next book in the series is WORLDS better. I feel like this is one of those "fool me once" type of situations I might regret later. My rating: 3/5

Now that I've shared some of my favorites with you, I have a confession to make. I feel like I'm in a world of confusion. I'm a 26 year old girl who is having a total book-genre-identity-crisis. I keep purchasing books that are of the YA (young adult) variety that I really WANT TO like, but something doesn't resonate with me the way I want it to, have I become too old for these? Am I over the YA hill? I don't like contemporary chick lit, I've never (nor will I ever) had the desire to pick up a Nicholas Sparks, Judi Picoult or Sarah Dessen book because I know it's totally NOT my jam. Fluffy, feel good, discover yourself love story? Where's the trash receptacle. The dystopian novels are getting redundant and played out. Adult fiction can be too real. So where does that leave me? Do you need to have a reading niche? A set genre? I guess not, but it makes for picking your next read a real game of chance. Which I suppose is half the fun. But every now and then I want to have a go to option that I know is going to be good. What does everyone else do? How do you pick books? I guess every now and then you get a few stinkers.

Well for now friends, that's all I've got. Enough writing about reading, time to actually get down to business and do it! I'll leave you with this:

Happy Chip Kelly Day Eve.

Book Worm

I know there has been a long absence of posting, I was going through a strange time of not working/being bored/not having any motivation, but now I'm back! With a post about my newly re-found love, BOOKS!

Upon reentering a world that you've been far removed from for a many number of years, especially the literary world, it's hard to know where to start. I was talking to Ryan's mother Dian around the time of my birthday, which is when this new obsession started. In this posting, I want to outline some of the sites that have made exploring new books possible and even (at times) cheap, because being a bibliophile is not a poor man's sport.

First, how it all started: Goodreads

There are not enough words in this world to describe how much I adore this website. I feel like its all I talk about and I literally try to work it into every conversation so I can get more of my friends on here. Dian, Ryan's mother, casually mentioned to me that she knew of a website and phone application where you can rate books and find new reads based on how you rate books you've read. It is SO MUCH more than that. Initially, yes, you need to get a basis set up for how Goodreads is going to recommend books for you, thus rating books. But from there you discover a community of people who love books as much as you do. I constantly think, "these are my people." You can add friends, follow top reviewers, called "Librarians" (meaning they write the most reviews and read the most books), follow authors (because almost every author you can think of is on there), write reviews, win first read books, download free books to your eReaders, so on and so forth ad infinitum. So far, I have won two, totally free books, written four reviews and brought my overall "pages read" total up from zero to nearly three thousand in a little over a month. I'd mark that in the life win column. The reason I love this site so much can be broken down like this: I'm the kind of person who walks into a bookstore and just stops. I'm taken in by all the beautiful cover art, all the possible options and worlds I could invest myself in. The problem is, I don't get much further than that. I start getting overwhelmed, thinking, "I can't buy this book, EVERYONE is reading it, what if it doesn't live up to the hype", and "I can't buy this book, I've never even HEARD of anyone reading it before!." It's quite the catch-22, and a situation in which I'm so under pressure to pick the right book I end up not buying any. So why I love Goodreads so much is because the website takes ALL of those doubts away from me. There are so many user reviews and knowledgeable sources on this site that I can research a book until my heart (and head) are content with knowing I have chosen well. I was having a conversation with Ryan the other day about how much money I have spent on books in the last month and was able to justify that spending money on books is a much better use of my resources than previous habits, aka alcohol. Everyone has to have their own vice, I just think reading and book buying happens to be one of the better ones. I digress. Back to Goodreads. I highly encourage anyone, book lover, avid reader, or literary novice alike to check out Goodreads and become my friend! Reading is the world's greatest gift to quote my friend Hannah.

Next, where I get my books: Thriftbooks

 When I started my Goodreads adventure, I found myself running into some road blocks instantly. After having rated books and got some recommendations, I took my phone (which was loaded with the Goodreads application and my "To Read" books) and headed down to my local book store. SCCCRRRREEEETTTCCCHHHH. That's the proverbial breaks being slammed down on my runaway book reading dreams. I live in a small town. We don't have a Barnes and Noble. We have Godfather's Books who has a resident homeless man in a motorcycle helmet with a shopping cart and not a thing published in the last three to six months. Yes, it's a wonderful store if I'm on vacation and I want to read that book that everyone had been swooning over last year that I never had a chance to read. But if I'm a budding bibliophile who wants to get caught up on the latest and greatest? I'm screwed. I left that book store so deflated, I almost gave up. Portland is a two hour drive for us, and shopping on Amazon, though you can most times get used books for $.01, shipping is around $3.99 on every book you buy. Things weren't going my way at this point, and thats when I turned to YouTube. I started watching TONS of Vlogs (video blogs) on book hauls and bookshelf tours and book reviews. For like, days (remember I wasn't working a lot, read: at all). What I came to find was this wonderful, beautiful, fabulous website called Thriftbooks. Imagine a place where you can find used books at hugely discounted rates with free shipping. Heavenly, right? FREE SHIPPING?! NO MATTER HOW MANY OR FEW BOOKS YOU ORDER?! Devine. So I sent in my first order, 6 books for $22, all of which were classified as "very good condition". They arrived a week later, and I can't say how perfectly pleased I am. They all look as if they've never been read before and I can't wait to dive in! If you follow Thriftbooks on Facebook, they update you with coupon codes. So not only did each book cost only about $3.60 each, I got 15% off on top of that. Boom.

My latest Thrifbooks acquire (I like to take pretty pictures of my books).

A Powell's Books find.

Before I knew about Thriftbooks, full price from Barnes and Noble + Godfather's.

Last, something fun: BookMooch

So I just started on this adventure. I don't have much to say about it as of yet, but I'll give you the premise. I found this site about two days ago when I was putzing around Instagram (if you don't know... no words. Speak to the Google) when I saw a similar, pretty stack of books, much like those shown above. The hashtag on it was #bookmooch (again, if you don't know about hashtags, see Google). So I puttered over to the site and found out that it's a book swap meet! People come together who have books they no longer need (read: I couldn't sell them for anything worth my time on Amazon) and they ship them off to strangers around the world who want what you have! Basically it breaks down this way: 1) You add books you own and are ready to part with and you gain .10 of a point per book. 2) You save up your points, once you have 1 pt, you can "mooch" a book, aka have someone send it to you. 3) If one of your books is "mooched", you send that book to the person's address they provided (yes, you pay for shipping) and you get 1 pt per book mooched. 4) You create a wishlist of books you want and eventually they'll be added and you can mooch the book (hopefully).

So where I'm at right now with this: I love the idea of it. Like shipping is rarely more than $3.00 and I love passing on something that I enjoyed. Yesterday, six of the eight books I posted had been mooched, so I headed off to the post office and sent out said books, with pretty notes attached that will hopefully make the person's day. It was a total of roughly $18.00, no big deal. Here's where I'm running into trouble. I can't find a single book I want to mooch. Like all of the popular books have HUGE wait lists or are in countries where the owner doesn't want to ship to the US. So, what I'm doing is creating a HUGE wishlist, the thinking behind it being that the more fish in the barrel, the more likely I am to shoot one. Right? We'll see. I think I have the advantage over a lot of other people in that I always am working on my computer and I always have my phone checking my email, so that if one of my books does pop up, I'll be quick like tiger in getting it, that's the theory anyway.

I hope this has helped anyone who is on that endless quest for the next best book, I think next blog I'll update you all with what I have purchased lately, the genres I've been reading and any recommendations I have. Until next time! Happy Saturday!